MPC “small” Hudson

You are happy with your locomotive, that's all that matters. When you have a chance, pick up a few colorful MPC freight cars. You will find your engine and the cars you choose are made for each other.

Is this a 2055 or what?

aussteve posted:

Is this a 2055 or what?

It appears to be the 2046/2056 type derived from  the 226E/726 tooling. They are great running engines.

ADCX Rob posted:

aussteve posted:

Is this a 2055 or what?

It appears to be the 2046/2056 type derived from  the 226E/726 tooling. They are great running engines.

Isn’t that more of a Kughn-era LTI item? I always think of the 8206 when it comes to an MPC small Hudson. I think MPC put traction tires on these, which made them questionable runners when compared to the PW cousins.

The 8206 was THE MPC Hudson, which was actually the Lionel PW 2055. Mine ran well though some had bent axle issues.

MPC used both small Hudson molds.  The “Santa Fe” tool was used first on the New York Central 8206, and then the C&O.  The old 2046 tooling first returned in the Empire State Express set in 1976.  

Jon  

Sam Jumper posted:

Isn’t that more of a Kughn-era LTI item? I always think of the 8206 when it comes to an MPC small Hudson. I think MPC put traction tires on these, which made them questionable runners when compared to the PW cousins.

But he said he has a 5484. That's the best info I have. It is a close match to the first Fundimensions re-release of the 2046, the 8600.

5484 is the TCA special edition Hudson and is otherwise known as a 6-8476 from 1985

I did find this, which seems to cover it?

 https://www.trainz.com/pages/t...-large-steam-engines

It definitely has smoke, magnetraction (no traction tyres, and it will lift a section of O27 track) and, according to the leaflet still in the box, Sound of Steam and electronic whistle, although the tender roller is missing so I can’t comment on these. 

Rockershovel, the tender pickup piece DOES NOT come with a pickup roller: ONLY the copper strip that rubs on the wheel axles. This is normal and how they were made. The sound board gets the "positive" power from the tether wire between the engine and tender.

Might be nice for you to know if your tender sound board works. Take off the shell of the tender. There will likely be a piece of worn out foam between the frame and circuit board. Pull the circuit board loose carefully as to not break any wires. Cut a piece a of cardboard larger than the circuit board size and place it between the board and tender frame.

With the engine and tender on track now, hook up the wire that runs between the engine and the tender. Give it power and if the board isn't already shot, you'll get an electronic "chuffing" sound. If it works, then you can go about a more secure mounting of the circuit board. Double sided tape and foam core board will work just fine.

Also, if you have any, Lionel Premium Smoke Fluid will give you improved smoke from the engine. You may not use the sounds, but it'd be nice to know they work. Likewise with the smoke. There's a wire with a clip below the smoke unit. You'll see one of two screws that holds the front pilot frame to the engine shell. One of these screws has a small wire attached to it. If you unhook that wire and insulate it with masking tape, the smoke unit won't get power. Drawback though, neither will the headlight.

Glad to hear you are coming around to enjoy the engine. I didn't realize you are in Britain, so yes, I can see how your purchasing options would be more limited as compared to here in the States.

The MPC stuff certainly has drawbacks, but as well has advantages. One of them as you've already discovered, is the purchase price. The other, which you will discover, is the simplicity of working on them as compared to the newer more electronically loaded locomotives.

Yes, the tender does have a pick-up and ground strap assembly. (8206). The TCA Hudson has no pick-ups just 3 wires on a plug to connect to the locomotive.

Just to clarify this..

1) here’s my Polar Express tender. Two rollers. There were originally two wires which I believe, were attached to small screws on the bogie frames, attached to copper straps bearing on the axles. This loco was subject to a PO disconnecting the whistle and these wires were found to be disconnected at both ends. 

2) here’s my Post War #233W tender, bought as a stand-alone item on eBay. Two rollers, one wire to each. I think it likely, but have never tested it, that one roller feeds the whistle and the other, the uncoupler. Whistle works fine. No straps to wheels or axles. 

3) underside of #8454 tender. No roller or straps. I assume that the copper straps would be secured to the small screws, one in each bogie frame? Tether to loco. Loco has conventional roller pickups and runs quite happily with another tender, or no tender at all. 

Okay, my goof.... clarification:  The copper strips would be applicable to plastic truck sets only. The die cast trucks are taking ground power directly to the frame. And then the roller pickup is getting power from the center rail. If you take off the shell to one of these, you should see a wire screwed into the sheet meal body frame someplace, which would be the ground. With plastic truck sets, that wire would have to go to the wipers hitting the axles of the wheel sets.

It's hard to tell from the photo, but I don't think the postwar whistle tender you've pictured above has a coil coupler on it. If it did, it would have a sliding shoe in addition to the center rail roller pick up. So I'm thinking both roller pickups are wired to the whistle assembly.

Here's a website for you that might come in handy if you're not already aware of it. Only postwar stuff on it, but still useful.

http://postwarlionel.com/

So... checking the tender on #5484, it does indeed contain one speaker, one circuit board (completely detached from the foam backing, which is quite hardened and useless) and three wires to the tether plug. No sign of any connection to the bogies. 

I strapped the board to the tender as suggested and connected the tether. The sound board makes various strange and at times, rather pathetic hissing, croaking and bleating sounds, so I think its usefulness is at an end. 

I’ve coiled the tether out of the way inside the shell for now, and taped over the loco end. 

The #233W tender doesn’t have a hotshoe, it has the later type electromagnet coupler. 

The Berkshire “train set” 2-8-4 has wiper strips on the trailing truck. The wire is detached from whatever it was attached to; that loco has switches on the footplate to isolate the smoke unit and reverser, so I dare say it’s one or the other of those. I’m not much interested as they are both switched off. 

One thing which HAS emerged, running this loco is that the rollers don’t like O27 uncoupler tracks. One UCS in particular will sometimes strand the loco entirely, lifting the wheels off the track. 

The other locos don’t suffer from this. I’d already decided to arrange the track plan for the “door layout” so that the outer loop didn’t include any of these, so press on..